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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489019">Bi the Way</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/hideeho/pseuds/hideeho'>hideeho</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>9-1-1 (TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>A whiff of jealous Eddie, Buddie First Kiss Week 2020, First Kiss, Fluff, M/M, Oblivious To Lovers, Prompt: related to pride, everyone knows but them, pure fluff</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>Completed</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-06-01</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 08:06:54</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>1</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>2,278</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/24489019</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/hideeho/pseuds/hideeho</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Eddie is bi. Eddie is bi and apparently everyone knew except for Buck. Buck handles it as well as one would expect.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Evan "Buck" Buckley/Eddie Diaz (9-1-1 TV)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>55</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>646</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>Bi the Way</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>“—and that’s the story of why you can still find specks of glitter in the back of Athena’s squad car when the sun hits just right,” Hen laughs, shaking her head in fond memory. Buck chuckles in amusement, smile widening at the familiar figure jogging up the steps towards the kitchen.</p>
<p>“Hey Eddie, have you met Josh?”</p>
<p>Eddie looks at Josh as if to size him up, taking a moment before offering his hand in greeting. If Josh thinks anything of it he doesn’t say.</p>
<p>“You work with Maddie, right? At the call center.”</p>
<p>“You’ve heard of me. Should I be flattered or concerned,” Josh laughs, looking to Buck with a raised brow. Buck raises his hands up in a sign of innocence before throwing him a wink.</p>
<p>“What brings you to the station,” Eddie says abruptly, breaking up the moment as he steps closer to Buck, his shoulder brushing lightly against his own.</p>
<p>“I’m actually here to see Hen,” Josh says, motioning towards the clipboard sitting on the table. “I’m in charge of organizing the first responder float for Pride this year, because apparently I decided I don’t need time to sleep anymore. I’m scrounging up participants before they all take a shift that day instead. We might not be getting paid, but we’re going to have <em>far</em> more fun.”</p>
<p>“I’d be happy to sign up,” Eddie says with a shrug, reaching for the clipboard.</p>
<p>“Oh, Eddie, they’re actually just looking for people who are LGBTQ, not allies,” Buck interjects, reaching for his elbow to pull him back. “But don’t worry, I’ll pick up a shift with you and we'll have plenty of fun working the parade <em>and</em> getting paid.”</p>
<p>Eddie gives him a confused look as he pulls his arm away gently, reaching back out for the clipboard. “Right. I still think I’ll join the float. Will be cool to meet some new people.”</p>
<p>“But you’re not—”</p>
<p>“I’m not what?” Eddie is looking at him like he has grown a second head which makes absolutely no sense, thank you very much. Buck turns to Hen for moral support but she’s also looking at him like he is the one who has lost his damn mind.</p>
<p>What is happening here?</p>
<p>“Sooo,” Josh offers once the moment has gone past the point of comfort and straight into awkward as hell. “Eddie, where do you fall exactly? If that’s not too personal.”</p>
<p>“I’m bi,” he says simply, as if anyone could have possibly known that.</p>
<p>“You’re bi,” Buck blurts out, and suddenly they’re all looking at him despite the fact <em>Eddie</em> is the one throwing the massive curveball. “<em>You</em>?”</p>
<p>“Yeah. Me,” Eddie retorts, all stubborn defensiveness. He’s looking at him with confusion and something that looks disturbingly like hurt.</p>
<p>“You know, I’ve really got a ton of things to do. I’m just going to go,” Josh adds awkwardly, already making moves to back away. Eddie reaches out for the clipboard abruptly, signing his name and handing it back to Josh before he can leave.</p>
<p>“I’ll walk you out,” Eddie offers, sparing Buck one more <em>look</em> before leading Josh down the stairs.</p>
<p>“I say this with all the love in the world, but you are genuinely the most intelligent dumbass I have ever met,” Hen sighs once they’re alone.</p>
<p>Rude.</p>
<p>“What, like you knew?”</p>
<p>“Honey, we <em>all</em> know.”</p>
<p>“That doesn’t even make sense!” Eddie is <em>his</em> best friend. They’ve tip-toed (Eddie) and bulldozed (Buck) their way to the point that they can finally share their ugliest and darkest secrets. Sometimes in hints and vague terms and other times in a tidal wave of information, bubbling to the surface like a new volcano erupting. He had earned that place in Eddie’s life, hadn’t he? So how could they all know this huge part of Eddie’s life when he didn’t have a single clue? “For how long?”</p>
<p>“I can’t speak for everyone else, but I’ve known since his first week here.”</p>
<p>What. The. Fuck?</p>
<p>“What, he just told you?” Why didn’t he tell me? Doesn’t he trust me?</p>
<p>“Not at first, no,” Hen acknowledges, exasperation shifting to something gentler at his shift in mood. “But it was pretty damn clear by how he was looking at you that the boy ain’t straight. So I asked him about his dating history and it confirmed what I already assumed. Haven’t you two ever talked about past relationships?”</p>
<p>“Of course. Shannon. Abby.”</p>
<p>“The ones before that?”</p>
<p>“Well, no,” Buck is realizing suddenly. He didn’t really have a real relationship to talk about before Abby and while Eddie knew about his past before that, he tried to keep it vague. He didn’t want Eddie thinking less of him. Of how he valued his worth in the kisses and bruises left behind on his skin.</p>
<p>“Did you ask?”</p>
<p>Buck opens his mouth to say <em>of course he did</em>, but that isn’t actually true. He hadn’t asked and Eddie hadn’t offered. Why hadn’t he asked? Had he just assumed Shannon was the only one that mattered?</p>
<p>Or was it because the curl of jealousy he felt at the thought of anyone who had Eddie’s attention before him?</p>
<p>“Wait, what do you mean by the way he looked at me?”</p>
<p>Hen has the audacity to chuckle. “You beautiful, beautiful, dumbass,” she says fondly, rolling her eyes as she heads off elsewhere.</p>
<p>“Hen! Hen, wait up. What did you mean?”</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>* * *</p>
</div><p>“You seriously didn’t know,” Chim guffaws, clearly ignoring Maddie’s look to play nice as he passes him the bowl of salad.</p>
<p>“I still don’t understand how you knew,” Buck mutters, ripping pieces of lettuce with his hands.</p>
<p>“Because I’m not blind?” Chimney winces as Maddie smacks his arm, raising his palms in surrender. “What? You knew.”</p>
<p>Buck can’t help but look at his sister in betrayal.</p>
<p>“Buck, I’m sorry. I honestly thought you knew,” she adds with an apologetic shrug. “The way you two—”</p>
<p>“They way we what?”</p>
<p>“Nothing, nothing, I just assumed you knew Eddie was flirting with you.”</p>
<p>“Eddie doesn’t flirt with me,” he falters, ignoring the looks they are both shooting at him. They quickly descend into a silent conversation with one another and it’s disgusting, even if he’s happy for them both.</p>
<p>“Buckaroo, I was ten seconds away from screaming ‘not in front of my free weights’ during the dick measuring contest that first week,” Chim points out, shaking his head at the memory. “I was half convinced I had walked into the beginning of a porno.”</p>
<p>“Ew, no, okay, not in front of the baby,” Maddie insists, covering her stomach as if to spare her unborn child from this particular conversation. If she wasn’t a nurse he’d tell her that wasn’t going to do much good. “Or me for that matter.”</p>
<p>“First off, I wasn’t in a dick measuring contest with him.”</p>
<p>“Afraid you’d lose,” Chim laughs, despite Buck’s most menacing glare.</p>
<p>“Secondly, I was just feeling him out.”</p>
<p>“Bet he would have liked that a lot more,” Chim mumbles under his breath, earning another light smack from Maddie.</p>
<p>“Talk to Eddie, Buck. You don’t want this becoming a thing between you,” Maddie suggests gently and he knows she’s right. He doesn’t care if Eddie is bi or anything else. He’s just hurt he didn’t know. Eddie doesn’t owe him anything, he knows that, but he thought he was the person Eddie could talk to about anything.</p>
<p>What does it mean if he isn’t?</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>* * *</p>
</div><p>“Buck, you realize this entire conversation is a HR nightmare, correct?”</p>
<p>“Don’t think of me as coming to you as my captain. Think of me coming to you as,” Buck begins, only to be cut off by an amused Athena with “—a father figure?”</p>
<p>“A <em>friend</em>,” Buck corrects, even if there may be some truth to her words. He’s sitting on their couch, clearly disturbing their alone time, but he can’t seem to get this out of his head. “A much older friend, but a friend all the same.”</p>
<p>“Gee, thanks,” Bobby says dryly, eyes crinkling in amusement.</p>
<p>“Did everyone know but me?”</p>
<p>“<b>Yes</b>,” is the unified reply.</p>
<p>Buck groans, burying his face in his hands.</p>
<p>“What’s got you so worked up,” Athena presses, “Is it the fact that he’s bi?”</p>
<p>“What? <em>No</em>, of course not. It’s that I was the last to know. He’s my best friend.”</p>
<p>“Maybe he thought you did,” Bobby offers, giving his shoulder a comforting squeeze. “I think if you talked to him, you’d get a lot of the answers you’re looking for.”</p>
<p>Buck can’t help but snort. Yeah, a deep meaningful talk sounded right up Eddie’s alley.</p>
<p>“When did you know?” Maybe if he knew how Bobby figured it out he could make sense of all the clues he must have missed.</p>
<p>“I couldn’t tell you the exact moment, but I had a hunch after the grenade incident. It’s hard to miss the way he looks at you.”</p>
<p>“Why does everyone keep saying that,” Buck asks miserably. He would know if Eddie looked at him. He had put out feelers, okay? He had flirted and tested the waters and accepted when Eddie was straight. Only Eddie is not straight, he’s just not interested in him. Or if he had been, he had clearly missed his chance. And yeah, maybe that’s the real reason he can’t let this go, but it stings. It’s a rejection he hadn’t known to prepare for, because it wasn’t supposed to be an option.</p>
<p>“What do we keep saying,” Athena prods, coming to sit on the other side of him.</p>
<p>“That you all knew Eddie is interested in men because of the way he looked at me. That he flirted with me.” That he was <em>interested</em> in me.</p>
<p>“You mean the way he <em>looks</em> at you. The way he <em>flirts</em> with you,” Bobby corrects.</p>
<p>Present tense. Holy shit. <em>Present</em> tense.</p>
<p>“Wait, you think he likes me?”</p>
<p>“Boy, I know you’re not that dense,” Athena sighs and even Bobby is shaking his head.</p>
<p>“I have to...Thanks, for everything. Sorry to interrupt your night, but I have to go,” he says suddenly, scrambling to get off the couch and out of the door.</p>
<p> </p>

<p></p><div class="center">
  <p>* * *</p>
</div><p>Eddie is opening the door before he can even knock.</p>
<p>“Bobby said he thought you were coming over,” he explains, stepping back to let Buck inside.</p>
<p>“Where’s Christopher?”</p>
<p>“Sleepover.” Oh, right, he knew that. “What brings you here, Buck?” Eddie looks like he knows, but he’s making him work for it, leaning with his back against the door in a shirt that might as well have been Christopher’s with how tightly it is plastered to his skin.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry,” he blurts, but Eddie is already brushing it off like it’s unnecessary as he leads them into the kitchen to grab a couple of beers.</p>
<p>“You have nothing to be sorry for.”</p>
<p>“I was weird. I know I was weird. It just caught me by surprise is all.”</p>
<p>“I figured that out,” Eddie shrugs, handing Buck a beer. “So we’re good now?”</p>
<p>“Of course we’re good,” Buck assures him. If nature disasters and lawsuits and near death experiences couldn’t stand in their way, this sure as hell wouldn’t. “I just...I guess I got in my head about why you didn’t tell me.”</p>
<p>“I thought you knew. I thought— I didn’t think I was being subtle.”</p>
<p>“You were flirting with me,” Buck breathes out, still not quite believing it himself.</p>
<p>“You were there,” Eddie says, going for a joke, but Buck knew him well enough to see through the self-deprecating edge.</p>
<p>“I’m an idiot.”</p>
<p>“No,” Eddie says firmly, stepping into Buck’s space, large hand resting on his shoulder, his thumb resting on the jut of his collarbone. “You’re not an idiot. You simply don’t feel the same way and that’s okay.”</p>
<p>“You’re an idiot,” Buck laughs, stepping in closer at the confused look on Eddie’s face. “<em>I</em> was flirting.”</p>
<p>“I know,” Eddie says, clearly exasperated. “That’s why I thought...But then you never said anything or did anything. Shannon came back, then you were with Taylor and Ali and I thought…”</p>
<p>“You thought I wasn’t interested,” Buck realizes, wondering if this was how the team felt watching them dance around like oblivious idiots.</p>
<p>“You were?”</p>
<p>“I am,” Buck insists, closing the limited space left between them. “You?”</p>
<p>“I am,” Eddie confirms, hands sliding to rest on Buck’s hips, firm and grounding.</p>
<p>Oh, hell yes.</p>
<p>He’s not sure who closes the distance first, only that they meet in a rush of lips and teeth, noses knocking together eliciting a laugh out of them both. Eddie uses the opportunity to lick his tongue into his mouth, changing the angle and suddenly Buck is putty in his hands.</p>
<p>He always knew Eddie would be an amazing kisser.</p>
<p>He loses track of how long they kiss, long enough to find their way to the couch, lost in a sea of playful nips and intense battles for dominance. They kiss until his lungs burn and the skin around his mouth smarts with the scruff of Eddie’s stubble.</p>
<p>It’s perfect.</p>
<p>It’s messy.</p>
<p>He’s ruined for anything else.</p>
<p>Eddie is tracing the shell of his ear with his tongue, his hand teasing the soft strip of skin exposed where his shirt has ridden up.</p>
<p>“I don’t suppose this means you’ll be my date to Pride? Apparently it’s a lot of fun,” Buck teases, breath hitching as Eddie sucks on the soft spot behind his ear.</p>
<p>“Oh, I already signed us up with Josh.”</p>
<p>“You did?”</p>
<p>“As soon as Bobby called. Just in case.”</p>
<p>That cocky little shit.</p>
<p>He’ll make him pay for it later. Just as soon as he stops doing whatever he’s doing with his tongue.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thank you so much for reading! Comments and kudos are always appreciated.</p></blockquote></div></div>
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